Embers of Embers

Chapter 86 Epilogue
Winter is coming, and the yellowing autumn leaves fall weakly, and the dry branches are twisted and stretched, like a dense forest of thorns. The warm sunshine shines down, cut into pieces by the sharp branches, and falls on the white quilt.
Shrike lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above his head. Gorgeous paintings filled his entire field of vision, and his eyes were a little tired after looking at them for a long time.
"Ah...what a rare rest."
A familiar sigh came from the adjacent hospital bed. The shrike tilted his head slightly, and the kestrel turned over and found a comfortable position to continue resting, muttering casually, as if talking in his sleep.
The sound of the quilt sounded again on the other side, and the shrike turned his head away again, only to see the robin holding a theological book and reading it quietly.
His chest was covered with bandages, and it could be seen from his relaxed expression that this guy was recovering well.
"Yeah, it's really rare."
Shrike looked at the ceiling above his head and sighed again.
He could no longer remember how he came back from that hellish place. His huge body fell down with surging white flames. The demon was indeed big enough. When it finally fell, it hit the lighthouse, although it failed. It broke, but still knocked down the kestrel above.
During the fall, the unlucky guy caught hold of a bulge on the wall and was not killed by the fall, but he still suffered several broken ribs, which was tragic.
Shrike himself fell into a coma due to the erosion of the Original Sin Armor. When he woke up for the first time, he was lying in the laboratory of the Eternal Pump. The degree of nerve erosion was relatively optimistic. Nikolai did not throw Shrike directly into the furnace. After being incinerated, he was here when he woke up again, with two acquaintances as fellow patients.
"How's Blue Jade?"
After thinking about it, the shrike asked, and the robin on the other side answered him.
"It's okay, I just have multiple burns on my body and I'm recovering."
The robin closed the book and said to him.
As the first patient here, he recovered the best, so he was allowed by the doctor to go out for a walk. Lan Jade's ward was at the other end of the corridor, but the erosion of Shrike at this moment had not returned to a stable value, and he was Locked tightly to the bed, unable to move.
"Huh...that's fine."
"Huh? What, Shrike, are you interested?"
Kestrel, who had been pretending to sleep on the other side, turned over and looked at him with a smirk on his face. He was the least injured among these people, but he stayed here shamelessly for the so-called peaceful vacation.
"It's nothing, I just owe her my life. Without her, I would have died there."
Shrike would always dream after he came back, but what he dreamed about was everything on the battlefield. Countless demons swarmed in and tore at the iron armor on his body. No matter how powerful he was, he could not break free until the sky fire came and a white His hands dragged him out of the darkness.
"Sounds pretty good."
The kestrel nodded as he spoke, as if he understood something. The robin on the other side also laughed, but after he laughed twice, he coughed painfully a few times, and Galahad lost control. The sword pierced through his chest, leaving a lot of sequelae.
"I'm really happy to see you all jumping around."
At the happy moment, the ward was pushed open, and two people walked in one after the other. It was a perfect contrast, one with a smile on his face, and the other with a cold face.
Night Owl was holding a fruit basket in his hand, while Xuanfeng took out a large bottle of strong liquor from under his clothes while the three of them were looking at him, winked at them and made a quiet gesture.
……
"So it's still anonymous this time?"
In the quiet church, the nun asked the man sitting on the bench. The deerstalker hat lowered his face, and only the lips with some blood loss and the cold texture could be seen.
"Yeah, just like usual."
The man replied, and then motioned the nun to leave, looking at the statue at the front. The sunlight penetrated through the painted glass and soaked it with colorful light. The blurred face was extremely sacred.
The nun nodded, put away the expensive gift with respect, and left the church. This man always did this every time he came, gave the donation, and then sat there until sunset.
She once thought that he was looking for some spiritual pure land, or God's salvation, but he never prayed, and he didn't need the blessings of the monks. He just sat here simply, enjoying the rare peace.
So the nun drove away the children who were playing around, and gave this mysterious guest some peace, which was the only thing she could do.
"So the mysterious Mr. Lorenzo Holmes is also a philanthropist?"
The man sat next to Lorenzo, keeping a safe distance, and then spoke slowly.
"What's the matter, can't it?"
Lorenzo opened his tired eyes, looked at the man on the other side, and forced a friendly smile.
"It's just a bit unexpected. I checked your financial conditions. Every once in a while, you come here to donate. With those funds accumulated, you can already live a good life in Old Dunling, but you didn't keep it... Is this some kind of iron-blooded tenderness?"
The man looked at him curiously.
"It's just sympathy for the past."
Lorenzo turned his gaze to the statue and shook his head.
"The demon hunter is a dangerous weapon, so the Evangelical Church needs to firmly control him, so training him from childhood is the best choice. Ignorant children will be the most fanatical believers of the church, and the church is everything to them. .”
I thought of Ed again. That guy must have been so attached to the church. He had occupied his entire life, but one day he was ruthlessly abandoned.
"So, you were also born in this... place?"
The man thought for a while and asked tentatively.
Lorenzo nodded and continued.
"On the outskirts of Florence, there was a monastery built along the Tiber River. The nuns were very kind and adopted us. But later, in order to maintain the monastery, we were moved to the church headquarters. We thought we would be together. A good life, after all, it’s jade there, it’s different from the damn suburbs.”
He said and laughed to himself.
"Then what do you do? Atonement or repentance?"
The man asked. He had seen such a person. On the surface, he was a cold-blooded murderer, but secretly he was the most loyal believer. He tried to use his so-called faith to explain his atrocities. In his eyes, Lorenzo was the same. Such people have blood on their hands but try to wash it away with so-called good deeds.
"Just sympathy."
He answered the question again, using the same reasoning.
"The beauty of childhood is important, and those memories are the only comfort worth having when you're sad."
There was faint laughter in the ears, but those little devils still disobeyed the nun's order and sneaked back to play.
"Just these?"
"that's it."
Lorenzo said, pointing to his head, and then said to the man.
"Human memory is very unreliable. We will always forget something. Even the most precious memories will turn yellow under the erosion of time. If there is any reason, then it is here that I can reluctantly Recall a little bit of the past, those were the only good times left."
For a moment, the man seemed to understand Lorenzo's words, and he stared at the colorful statues as if in deep thought.
"I……"
"Invite me to join the purification agency? Or arrest me? After all, I am a demon hunter. If I lose control, I will be an extremely dangerous demon."
"In that case, don't talk about it, Mr. Arthur, I quite like my life now."
Directly interrupting Arthur, Lorenzo directly rejected him.
As if he had suffered a dumb loss, Arthur didn't expect that this demon hunter would be a bit difficult to deal with.
"Why are you so confident?"
"Because you need me, I think I have shown my value in the operation in Ende Town, and this value is my bargaining chip. Is this okay?"
"Indeed, let's put it another way, Mr. Holmes, I think we can become cooperative partners to a certain extent."
Arthur picked up the document he was carrying and handed it to Lorenzo.
"The exchange of values, this is our sincerity."
"Oh...that still looks really troublesome."
Lorenzo did not take the document, he looked a little sad.
According to his understanding, Arthur should be the person in charge of the purification agency, but he directly rejected him on his home court, and coupled with his own danger level, if Lorenzo's guess was correct, that damned Navigation to Dawn It should be hidden in the clouds above his head. With a wave of Arthur's hand, the place will be blown to the ground.
But now Arthur is still so friendly and even willing to show sincerity, then there must be something troublesome that makes Arthur willing to bargain with Lorenzo.
"Can I hear the whole story?"
Arthur put away the documents and showed a bit of joy. He likes to negotiate terms with smart people and clearly mark the price.
"You should know that the Demon Hunting Sect has been disbanded, right?"
Lorenzo nodded and remained silent.
Arthur looked at his flawless expression and then continued.
"So are you aware that they have begun to rebuild the Demon Hunting Order?"
"Rebuilding the Demon Hunting Order?"
Lorenzo could not contain his surprise. For the first time, he and Arthur looked at each other, like two ferocious beasts, showing their fierce teeth.
"A few days ago, during the operation in Ende Town, we received a telegram from the Seven Hills. It was a new Pope, and his name was Seni Lothar."
Arthur said slowly.
"He proposed to us the exchange of intelligence and the sharing of technology. For the first time in hundreds of years, the aloof church has lowered its head. This has to be alarming, and it's not just that."
"After this telegram, we activated a chess piece in the Seven Hills, which we planted more than ten years ago. It is the most valuable piece of our intelligence department. Judging from the news he reported, those new popes have restarted Many ancient departments and projects.
The entire Templar Knights moved, as if war was coming, the old forces in the entire Seven Hills were liquidated overnight, the pope cleared all the opposition in the name of God within a few days, the entire church He held it firmly in his hand. "
Even as he recounted it, he could smell the blood filling the air. The entire old force was completely eradicated. This was an almost impossible act, but it was done in just one night. So how long had the new pope secretly been preparing?
"The surrendered will honor him as the King of Kings, sing his praises, and the name of God will once again fly in the Western world."
There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, but Lorenzo still looked unconcerned.
"Why does such a high-ranking and powerful person have anything to do with me?"
"I know, but this is only part of the information. The other part is really related to you, or to the witcher."
This is just the appetizer. No matter how powerful the King of Kings is, Ying Erweg still has the queen in the Platinum Palace and thousands of firecrackers and steam engines to fight against him.
"Six years ago an incident called Advent occurred within the Evangelical Church."
Arthur deliberately slowed down his speech when he said this. He looked at Lorenzo, but there was nothing.
"We don't know the more detailed inside story, but after that, the Demon Hunting Order mysteriously disbanded, and then the last pope signed a secret order called No. 13. According to our speculation, that secret order It’s a massacre order against demon hunters.”
As if he knew what he was going to ask, Lorenzo shook his head.
"I don't know, I had already arrived at Old Dunling at that time."
"Then what if Secret Order No. 13 has not ended yet?"
Arthur said again, with a hint of threat.
The long pursuit never stops, chasing every surviving demon hunter like a shadow.
"At the end of this telegram is a wanted order, and the new pope did not hide anything. The church is hunting a demon hunter. He left the Seven Hills six years ago, but recently the Evangelical Church once again His whereabouts were discovered, and his location is... Yin Erweg."
Lorenzo's eyes were cold, secret blood surged in his veins, as if he had anticipated his murderous intent, and faint metallic sounds came from all directions.
The nuns outside the church watched all this in horror. The red-clad air cavalry descended from the sky on iron ropes and surrounded every corner of the church. At the end of the road, the knights wore that hateful armor, waiting for Arthur. instruction.
"Is this also one of sincerity?"
"The premise of equal talk is that we both have the sword to kill the other, right?"
Arthur didn't pay much attention.
"Are you trying to tie me to your chariot?"
Lorenzo nodded. He somewhat understood what Arthur meant. The church has been hunting down the surviving demon hunters, but the purification mechanism can protect him. As long as he is still valuable, it will never abandon him.
"No matter whether you are wanted by the church or not, you still have secret blood in your body. No one will not be tempted by such a powerful power."
"You are also trying to get your hands on the secret blood?"
Lorenzo was amused as if he had heard some joke.
As if he knew why Lorenzo was laughing, Arthur continued.
"Mr. Holmes, times have changed. We used to be chased by demons, but now with the rise of industrial technology, we can easily defeat them. More and more weapons, more and more lethal."
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, as if a fire had been lit.
"The world is changing. You should be aware of what the church is doing. According to our intelligence, they have been trying to militarize demon technology.
In the Viking countries in the northern seas, there have been very few pirates in recent years. This is only because they are in a civil war. There is a Viking who is trying to unify the disputed countries, and he is about to succeed, and even said that he will Gaul Naluo, which is only separated by a strait from us, has also begun to catch up with steam technology, not to mention Jiuxia in the east who has been silent. "
Arthur was once a warrior who only needed to see everything on the battlefield, but now he is a chess player on the chessboard and needs to see the big picture.
"What do you think the final direction of this world will be?"
he asked suddenly.
Lorenzo was silent for a moment, then he answered.
"I am not sure."
Arthur's voice had a faint sound of fighting as he answered.
"war."
“The Industrial Revolution brought great progress, but this progress was followed by the sacrifice of countless people. Human power was replaced by machinery, and the class gap became wider and more solid. No matter which country it is, it is teetering on the edge of this rapidly advancing technology. Only war can bring it to an end. Move this conflict away."
Like a dragon breathing in his ears, Arthur deduces the direction of the world for Lorenzo.
"The economy of the barren Viking countries is declining, and steam technology is not popularized widely. Once they are unified, they need a way to catch up with us, and plunder is the fastest way... Just like in history, hordes of Vikings Pirates are coming across the ocean, but this time they have advanced firearms."
"The same is true for Gaul Naluo. He is close to Yin Erweg. Under our oppression, they will decline sooner or later. The way to change is to launch a glorious war. This time they must win, and the Evangelical Church The same goes for the Pope. If he wants to let the Papal State of the Holy Spirit and Gospel regain control of the Western world, sweeping all the wars at once is the best way."
Arthur slowly recounted that the seemingly peaceful world had already been turbulent, and everyone was maintaining a fragile balance.
"Mr. Holmes, this is the tide of the times. No one can stay out of it. Even if you are pregnant with secret blood, how long can you sustain under the torrent of steel?"
"A war is brewing that will engulf the entire world, and its emergence is inevitable."
"But secret blood is not a taboo that mortals can consult. You will only repeat the mistakes of the church."
Lorenzo answered calmly.
"But what determines whether a sword kills someone is the hand holding it."
The two were silent at the same time, until Arthur stood up after a long time, his eyes were slightly cold.
"If you change your mind, you can go find Shrike. As for Old Dunling, as long as you promise not to get out of control, you are still welcome to live here."
As Arthur said, he took out his gun and fired directly at Lorenzo's head. The bullet ejected and wiped along Lorenzo's cheek, bringing up a little bit of blood.
"Are you still hesitating whether to kill me or not?"
The pain slowly arrived after a long time, and Lorenzo suddenly felt that Arthur was quite interesting. He could blow his head off if he turned just a little bit, but he didn't do that.
"Of course, your identity as Arthur tells me that you are still valuable, but your identity as a father makes me want to kill you."
Duke Phoenix looked at Lorenzo fiercely and then said.
"Goodbye then, Mr. Holmes."
……
He left, taking with him the thousands of troops surrounding the church.
Lorenzo touched the blood on his face and laughed loudly after a long time. In fact, this was also Arthur's sincerity. They could capture him or kill him. Anyway, he was a specimen of secret blood, walking wealth. But he left himself here and let himself make a choice.
But does Lorenzo really have a choice? The peaceful life is gone, or it may have never come.
The world in his eyes began to fluctuate, with red and blue mixed together. After the chaos, there were many fluctuations like a video glitch, accompanied by tingling pain deep in the nerves.
[Start connecting to the Temple of Stasis. 】
[Start connecting τψΓΗυωΔΘΦΡΝ...]
As the voice in his head calmed down, the sting finally disappeared, and Lorenzo covered his head tiredly.
"Why don't you agree?"
The woman's voice rang in her ears. She gently rubbed Lorenzo's face, pressed against him, and then covered Lorenzo's head with her hands, gently rubbing the source of pain for him.
"The Demon Hunting Order has indeed been rebuilt, as evidenced by the reappearance of the Stasis Temple. But Lorenzo, forcibly interrupting the connection is not free."
Hugging Lorenzo's neck, the two were as close as lovers.
"Why don't you talk? Aren't you happy to see me again?"
She whispered in her ear.
"I'm not interested in false devils."
Lorenzo finally said slowly, and then struck down with a fierce punch, leaving several cracks on the wooden chair, and the woman disappeared in the wind in that moment.
Lorenzo sat alone in the church. After a long time, he picked up the Winchester in the suitcase. He never left this weapon. He picked up a heavy buckshot, and the bullets inside were all holy silver. Cast it and then fill it in.
Facing the colorful statue, Lorenzo pressed the muzzle of the gun firmly against his chin, closed his eyes and gently pressed the trigger. As he murmured a prayer, children singing hymns were heard not far away. Class singing.
It was quiet for a long time until the gunfire rang out. The broken holy silver bullet shattered the painted glass. People's screams came from the broken glass. The man leaned against Winchester. At the last moment, he dodged the gun. , his ears were filled with violent buzzing, and there was a faint female voice in it, which seemed to be mocking his cowardice.
　This volume!end! (Since they are talking about the physical style, don’t you think it is very ritualistic if it is implemented?)
　
(End of this chapter)